74 



THE GAME BREEDER 



it to be in other regions. Colonel Mc- 

 Call, with that accuracy for which he has 

 a well-deserved name, states that this val- 

 ley, "though comparatively narrow, con- 

 tains a country of great extent from 

 north to south, and embraces, in its 

 stretch between the Rocky Mountains 

 and the Gulf of Mexico, every variety of 

 climate, from the extreme of cold to that 

 of tropical heat. This entire region, not 

 even excepting the narrow mountain val- 

 leys, covered in winter with deep snows, 

 is inhabited by the species under consid- 

 eration. I have met with it on the Rio 

 Grande and its affluents from the 25th 

 to the 38th degrees of north latitude — ■ 

 that is to say, from below Monterey, in 

 Mexico, along the borders of the San 

 Juan River to its junction with the Rio 

 Grande ; and at different points on the 

 latter as high up as the Taos and other 

 northern branches which gush from the 

 mountain sides. I have also found it, 

 though less frequently, near the head of 

 the Riado Creek, which likewise rises in 

 the Rocky Mountains and flows eastward 

 to the Canadian." I did not meet with 

 the bird near Taos, and we have no 

 knowledge of its occurrence so far north 

 except that afforded by Colonel McCall's 

 observations : T presume this must be the 

 extreme limit of its range. The only 

 naturalist of the Railroad Surveys who 

 appears to have met with it was Dr. 

 Heermann. who found it on the San 

 Pedro, a branch of the Gila, east of 

 Tucson, and thence to Limpia Springs. 



Those of the Mexican Boundary Survey, 

 however, all observed it, and Dr. Ken- 

 nedy makes the summary statement that 

 it was "found everywhere where there 

 was permanent water, from Limpia 

 Creek, Texas, to San Bernardino, Son- 

 ora." Lieutenant Couch records it from 

 "about sixty leagues west of Matamoras ; 

 not until free from prairie and bottom- 

 land ;" and observation confirmed by Mr. 

 Clarke, who states that it "does not oc- 

 cur on the grassy prairies near the coast." 

 I was rather surprised to find- no Blue 

 Quail about Fort Whipple, since it 

 seemed that that locality was in their or- 

 dinary range, and probably my observa- 

 tions, or rather want of observations in 

 this particular, represent the actual 

 truth, as I was repeatedly assured that 

 none live there. In Arizona they appear 

 really to be confined to what is called 

 the "lower country" — that is, to the val- 

 leys of the Gila and Colorado, in a re- 

 stricted sense. On the latter river it 

 must ascend at least as high as Fort 

 Mojave ; and to the eastward, to the 

 country about the Hassayampa. 



The egg of the blue quail differs in 

 color from that of the Calif ornian or 

 Gambel's, though of the same size and 

 shape. A specimen measures 1.20 by 

 1.00; it is buffy-white, or with the faint- 

 est possible brownish-yellow tinge, and 

 it is very regularly and thickly dotted 

 with minute specks of light brown. The 

 usual large number are laid for each 

 setting. 



BREEDING GAMBEL'S QUAILS. 



By C. W. SlEGLER. 



In the September number of The Game 

 Breeder the editor asks the readers who 

 are experimenting with California quail 

 and others, to write their experiences 

 for The Game Breeder. As I have ex- 

 perimented with the Gambel quail I shall 

 comply with the request and let you know 

 about the pair awarded me as first prize 

 of live quail. 



This pair of Gambels had been shipped 



to me March 6th and arrived here six 

 days later in very good condition. Long 

 journeys and captivity in very small 

 coops seem to have no bad effect upon 

 them. 



When notified that they would be 

 shipped, I prepared quarters for them 

 fencing off a part of one of my pheasant 

 pens for them, a space 16 by 4 by 4 feet, 

 sheltered from the north and west, with 



